


Policy Violations

by stucky1918



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Derek gives good advice, First Kiss, Fluff, Hotch has a soft side maybe, M/M, Nervous Reid, Reid is a genius but he knows nothing about relationships, confession of love, super fucking cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24124924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stucky1918/pseuds/stucky1918
Summary: Reid goes to Morgan for some much needed advice on telling someone you have feelings for them and that advice leads Spencer right to Hotch’s office door.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Comments: 6
Kudos: 323





	Policy Violations

“Hey, Morgan, can I ask you something?”

Reid caught Morgan just as he was heading for the door to take off for the night. He was about to get his first real night's sleep in a week.

“Yeah, what’s up, kid?”

Reid chuckled a little. He simultaneously resented and enjoyed the fact that he got called “kid” so much. In the beginning, it bothered him. He knew he was young, but he also knew he was smart and capable and just as talented as anyone else at the BAU. He saw the nickname as a jab at first, but he soon realized that it was more of a term of endearment than anything else. And it showed they cared about him.

“How do you....well, if I was going to....”

“Spit it out,” Derek prodded.

“If you were interested in someone...like you had feelings for them, but you knew they didn't reciprocate those feelings, how would you tell them? Or would you tell them at all?”

Derek looked down, smiled, and gave a half laugh.

“What?” Spencer was suddenly worried he had said something wrong or revealed himself in some way.

“You may be a super genius, but there is still one thing I know more about than you: women.”

Reid chuckled half heartedly, partially at Morgan’s glaring assumption. So much for that profiler intuition.

“It’s always better to tell a woman how you feel. And, trust me, you never really know how she might feel about you. Even if you do have an IQ of 187. So, best case scenario, she feels the same way and you ride off happily into the sunset together and worst case scenario, you’ve gotten it off your chest and you can move on. So, just be honest and lay it all on the line.”

Some time during his advice, Derek had placed a friendly and reassuring hand on Spencer’s shoulder and squeezed lightly.

Spencer smiled warmly. “Thanks, Derek.”

Eager to reunite with his bed, Morgan had already turned and was headed out the door, but as he left he yelled back, “Any time, pretty boy!”

Spencer was the last one in the bullpen. He stood for a moment, turning Morgan’s advice over in his mind. He looked up and, unsurprisingly, the light was still on in Hotch’s office. Morgan and Prentiss were convinced Hotch kept pajamas in that office and had just taken up permanent residence at Quantico. Spencer knew that Hotch just preferred to work in order to avoid going home to the empty house Hayley used to live in too. All the team must have known that. You don’t have to be an FBI profiler to read Aaron Hotchner.

Reid knocked lightly, even though the door was mostly open.

Hotch didn’t even bother looking up from the stack of files on his desk. “What’s up?”

“Uh, Hotch?”

It was the unusually soft tone in Reid’s voice that got Hotch to put down the pen and look up at the doorway.

“Reid. What are you still doing here? Were you able to get those court reports so we can close out the Milner case?”

Reid took a step into the office. “Yeah! JJ has them. We are all set. Another one in the books.”

“Good.” His tone was typically stern. He had diverted his attention back to his desk when he realized that Reid’s visit clearly had not concluded. So, he stood up and walked around the desk. He ended in front of it, leaning back slowly.

“What is it, Reid?”

Spencer loved that. The way Hotchner’s tone shifted when he started profiling you instead of the unsub. It got softer, less stoic, more concerned.

He thought carefully about what to say next. Everything came easy to Spencer. So why didn’t this?

“There is just something I have to tell you.”

Typically, when a member of his team started a conversation this way, it wasn’t a positive thing. Immediately, Hotch began to profile him. To try to anticipate where this would go.

Spencer had taken a purposeful step inside the office and kept his voice low even though everyone else had already gone home, indicating that whatever he was about to say was personal and he wouldn’t want the rest of the team to know. But he hadn’t come all the way inside, he stayed at least six feet away from Hotch’s desk, keeping a safe distance. So, while he had something he wanted to say, he was still debating whether or not to actually say it. And his left hand grabbed nervously at the bottom of his sweater, showing general unease. He didn’t know how Hotch would react to whatever it was he was going to say.

With all this information, a million different scenarios crossed Hotch’s mind within a second. But none of them seemed to fit the profile of Spencer Reid. Hotch could stand there for days and he would still have no idea what Reid was about to say next.

Rather than pry or try to speed up whatever confession this was, Hotch just waited quietly for Spencer to find the right words.

It took a moment, but Spencer decided that he was in fact going to say what was on his mind.

“I know that this is totally against protocol. I know it’s inappropriate and this is in direct violation of at least, well exactly, three FBI policies. And I know that nothing is ever going to come out of it. Which is why I wasn’t going to say anything...”

By this point, Hotch had figured out exactly what Reid was about to say.

“...I wasn’t going to say anything, but then Derek said...well, it doesn’t matter. I just, I have to say it because if I don’t then it will just keep eating away at me and I won’t be able to focus on the job and so if I say it then I can just move on and...”

Reid never got to finish his nervous, rambling confession, because Hotch took four steps forward, closing the gap between them, took Reid’s face in his hands and kissed him gently.

It was a subtle kiss. Understated, much like Aaron himself. But his lips lingered on Spencer’s. The moment drug out in silence. Reid’s arms were still at his sides, his left hand no longer grabbing at his sweater, when Hotch pulled away.

For being the smartest person anyone at the BAU had ever met, Spencer was confused with surprising frequency. And there was a specific look he would get in those moments when he was just a little lost, typically when he had missed a social cue. That was the look on his face now. Reid had, of course, played out every possible outcome of this conversation in his mind. He had anticipated the way Hotch would move, the way he would speak, the precise words he would use. He had considered a scenario in which he was consoled by Aaron after being rejected. He had considered a scenario where he was scolded for breaking protocol so blatantly. He had even considered a scenario in which Hotch was so surprised, he said nothing at all. But what had just happened, had never occurred to Spencer. He had never anticipated such a gesture. Not even in the scenarios where the reaction was, in fact, positive.

They now stood, face to face, much closer than before, and looked at one another. Aaron read Reid’s expression and lightened the mood with a quip, “What, you didn’t think I had feelings after all?”

Spencer laughed and blushed. “No, I just...didn’t expect that.”

“Neither did I. It just sort of happened.” And that was true. When he realized what Reid was about to reveal, he had no idea that he would make such a bold move in response. But he had.

“So...” Spencer started, “you...feel the same I suppose.” It was a statement, but they both knew he intended it as a question.

“I suppose I do.” Hotch responded smiling.

This time, Spencer initiated the kiss. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around Hotch, gripping at his suit coat. This kiss was more passionate than the last, more self-assured.

When they finally pulled apart, Aaron spoke quietly. “It’s two.”

“What?” Reid asked, looking up at Hotch quizzically.

“There are only two official FBI policies regarding employee fraternization. One general policy and one specifically regarding direct superiors.” Hotch grinned, referencing Spencer’s earlier comment and feeling as though he had just outwitted the resident genius.

“Well, actually,” Spencer began, “it’s against policy to have any romantic or sexual contact with citizens or Bureau personnel on Bureau property, so what we just did was in direct violation of code...”

Before Spencer could finish, Hotch cut him off.

“What we just did? So, you knew what would happen before you even walked into this office?” He looked equal parts surprised and impressed.

“Well,” Spencer offered, “I had a hunch.”


End file.
